Mr Rawlinson’s appointment was first announced in June. He succeeds former chairman of the executive committee Eduardo Leite, who has now stepped down from the global chairmanship to instead focus on growing Baker & McKenzie’s business in New York and Latin America. A London-based intellectual property partner who first joined Baker & McKenzie in 1986, Mr Rawlinson is the first British chair of the firm.

Fresh leadership

A round of other new appointments have been announced by the firm to coincide with the start of Mr Rawlinson's tenure, including new Asia Pacific regional chair Gary Seib and North American regional chair Michael Wagner, who are replacing Bruce Hambrett and Jim Holloway respectively. Singapore-based principal Ai Ai Wong and Washington DC-based tax disputes partner Duane Webber have also been newly appointed to the firm’s executive committee. ‘We have an exciting vision for the firm which will centre around our clients and our people,’ said Mr Rawlinson of the new batch of appointments.